“We have received reports from the EOD team that 23 people have been confirmed dead,” Nattapat Suwanprateep, governor of Suphan Buri province, told Agence France-Presse, citing the Explosive Ordinance Clearance Group.
The causes of the explosion are being investigated. “The factory operated legally, under valid licenses,” he said.
Police officers assure that the world has not been damaged. “The explosion damaged glass windows in a single house, but there have been no other reports,” Nattapat said.
Rescuers on the scene said no survivors had been found. The provincial authorities didn’t mention any of them, which contradicts the department’s statement in regards to the recovery of the injured.
Suphan Buri lies roughly 95 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Bangkok, in the center of Thailand’s central rice-growing region.
The Prime Minister ordered an inspection of the plant to examine whether it was operating legally and whether the explosion was not brought on by negligence
The office of Prime Minister Sretta Thavisin, who’s in Switzerland for the World Economic Forum, distributed a video by which the regional police chief told him over the phone that there have been 20 to 30 staff on the factory on the time of the explosion and that none of them made it to safety. find.
“The Prime Minister ordered an inspection of the plant to examine whether it was operating legally and whether the explosion was not brought on by negligence. The law have to be enforced to the fullest extent because innocent deaths and injuries do occur,” Srettha’s office said.
Kritsada Manee-In, a rescuer with the Samerkun Suphan Buri Rescue Foundation, which previously estimated that between 15 and 17 people died, said an accurate count was difficult since the bodies were in pieces.
Photos published on social media show a thick cloud of black smoke over the scene. Photos posted online by local rescuers showed that the factory area was virtually razed to the bottom.
At least 10 people killed and 100 injured in fireworks warehouse explosion in Thailand
At least 10 people killed and 100 injured in fireworks warehouse explosion in Thailand
Police Chief Torsak Sukvimol confirmed local news reports that one other explosion occurred on the factory in November 2022, killing one employee and seriously injuring three others.
He announced that the police would take legal motion in case of any irregularities.
The explosion occurred lower than a month before the Lunar New Year in February, when demand for fireworks is high.
Explosions in workshops producing firecrackers and other pyrotechnic materials are usually not unusual in Thailand.
Last July, a big explosion at a fireworks warehouse in southern Thailand killed no less than 10 people and injured greater than 100, in line with officials.
According to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the explosion in Narathiwat province occurred in a residential area and damaged about 100 houses inside a 500-meter radius.
Governor Narathiwat said the explosion was likely brought on by construction work on the warehouse and sparks from metal welding ignited and exploded fireworks stored inside.
The Southeast Asian kingdom also has a poor safety record in the development sector, and fatal accidents are common.
Additional reporting by Reuters
